Active Measures (Jericho Quinn Book 8)
Marc Cameron
Kensington Books
Nov 26th, 2019
Active Measures by Marc Cameron is a suspenseful thriller. With the Cuban regime as a backdrop this novel reminds Americans how Cuba has overwhelming poverty, is a police state, and a violator of human rights. The plot has a rogue general, Zayda de la Guardia, wanting to enact revenge on America by firing off a nuclear weapon left over from the Cold War.
Hoping to stop him, Special Agent Jericho Quinn and his team have traveled undercover to Cuba. He is pursued by assassins, captured, thrown into a secret prison, and trapped on the island during one of the worst hurricanes. Yet nothing can deter Quinn and his team from eliminating the threat to the US.
This plot has nail-biting action and very likeable protagonists as well as antagonists who are pure evil. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as they turn the pages.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Marc Cameron: I read somewhere where Robert McNamara heard a rumor that Russia left up to 100 nukes in Cuba that could hit Miami. Although the Russians eventually removed them, as a storyteller, I started to think what if one was left behind. I decided to let my characters respond to what was actually happening. They were not very fond of socialism.
EC: How would you describe Quinn?
MC: He is driven and wants to right wrongs. He is the type of person that will run towards the sound of gunfire. A pragmatist who has a compulsion to serve.
EC: How would you describe his girlfriend and CIA analyst Ronnie Garcia?
MC: Independent and in love with Quinn. I based her on the female Marshalls and Law Enforcement women I know who have a spunky attitude. Ronnie is well educated and can speak Russian, English, and Spanish. A strong Patriot who comes from a Russian father and Cuban mother.
EC: There is a lot of Cuban culture in the book?
MC: When I was in Florida after the hurricane, while still a US Marshal, I spoke with a lot of Cubans. I kept notes about their culture and put that in the book. The Cuban regime pitted neighbor against neighbor and family against family. I did not want to write a political story, but a story about people. The politics is in the background just like the setting.
EC: How would you describe Emiko Miyagi?
MC: She has been in all the Quinn books as a modern assassin. A Japanese woman character who is stoic, quiet, and keeps people off balance because they never truly know what she is thinking. I am a lover of Japanese culture.
EC: Weather plays a big role?
MC: As a Marshal weather influenced us how we pack gear, weapons, and how we would track bad guys. I see weather as another character. The hurricane and the buildings that are not built up to code allowed me to put problems on the antagonists/protagonists. Hopefully it adds tension to the plot.
EC: I was so disappointed you had the child returned to Cuba. I remember Elian Gonzalez. Did you base this part of the story on him?
MC: I am sure he crossed my mind. I was friends with one of the deputies that guarded him. I thought that is probably what the courts would say. We as Americans think that my character would have a better life here, but her grandmother was in Cuba. It is a choice of her living with family versus being adopted.
EC: Can you give a shout out about your next books?
MC: The Clancy one is about AI software weaponized by China. President Ryan’s friend in Indonesia is arrested because he knows something. It is a “spy in the cloud digital agent.”
Stone Cross is an Arliss Cutter novel. Cutter and his deputy Lola Teariki have been assigned to shadow a Federal Judge in Alaska who refuses protection. They are in a small village where people keep disappearing. They must navigate protecting the Judge and finding out what is happening to the villagers.
There will also be at least one more Jericho Quinn book.
THANK YOU!!
